[Mainland Chinese Drama 2020] Serenade of Peaceful Joy 清平乐

[beasima]

12 hours ago, tulip06 said:

I wish I could upload the screenshot. Emperor and Empress got drunk, they’re in bed, but she is fully dressed. So, they didn’t do anything! 
 

she is just putting him to bed like a child. So aggravating.

It's so frustrating! - Sigh

[tulip06]

On 4/6/2020 at 7:50 PM, skibbies said:

The original name came from the source webnovel, which was about the emperor's daughter and her eunuch (?) lover I think? They switched protagonists so I presume they radically changed the plot. The emperor is one of the most well known emperors from Song dynasty since it was rather prosperous and peaceful, the new name does fit the time period bit more. There's a rumour/slightly morbid joke that the Held in the Lonely Castle could remind people of Wuhan lockdown and that would bring painful memories (it's little more apparent in Chinese), but mhmm I lean towards the former reasoning.

Is the web novel in English anywhere? I am started watching for the daughter’s storyline with her eunuch. Feels like we will be stuck in concubine madness forever.

[tulip06]

I need someone to catch up to episode 34 and explain Lantiao’s behavior to me. 

[liddi]

@tulip06 Which part of Lantiao's behaviour are you referring to?

 

Spoiler

 

Lantiao originally made the voodoo doll as an outlet for her own anger towards ZBH, who mistakenly thought was Huirou's doing, thus inciting her paranoia towards the young princess. The pollen which almost cost Yaoyao's death was meant for ZBH, because Lantiao remembered how she would have an allergic reaction to the pollen, and end up looking especially ugly. Since ZBH suffered the loss of a child, and Yaoyao also almost died because of Lantiao's doings, she decided to consider that they're now even, and stop her personal vendetta.

 

As for her decision to stay in the palace and collude with Madam Jia and Xia Song, I have to wonder whether she had always wanted to be back in Madam Jia's good graces - remember that she resented how Madam Jia always sided ZBH over her, even though she was the most obedient. To convince Madam Jia of her usefulness thus allowing her to remain, she hands over the letter imperial tutor Shi Jie wrote to Minister Fu Bi, which she obtained from her friend who is now at Minister Fu's manor. This is the correspondence that Madam Jia and Xia Song are desperate to get their hands on. Apart from Ouyang Xiu, Fang Zhongyan and Han Qi, Xia Song also holds a grudge against Shi Jie who denounced him as a villain in the ode he wrote during the imperial lessons. While there is no indication of any corrupt dealings in the letter, the fact that she has access to their correspondence means that there is a chance to catch any wrongdoing on their part. In upcoming teasers, we will see Lantiao working with ZBH to drive a further wedge between Wang Gongchen and the rest of the ministers through his wife who already feels aggrieved because of the rumours that her husband had his eye on her and married her soon after his 1st wife, her own sister died - rumours that were fanned by her own brother in law Ouyang Xiu's poems.

 

 

[skibbies]

21 hours ago, tulip06 said:

Is the web novel in English anywhere? I am started watching for the daughter’s storyline with her eunuch. Feels like we will be stuck in concubine madness forever.

Doubt it. It finished way too early (at least a decade+ ago) and being heavy depressing historical means that not a lot of people would attempt to translate it or can. Maybe watching something else and come back once a week to skip for the kids' scenes?

 

 

The political reform is much less exciting than I expected, I'm not sure why I expected it would be better (maybe because it's the most notable thing done by this emperor?) but it sure isn't, so I'm kind of mad. I was doing a timeline before but it's kind of messed up lately. mhm.

 

Oh and where's Justice Bao! D< He's well known! He should be in the capital by now. Don't tell me they skipped him! D<

[tulip06]

@liddi

Spoiler

I don't understand why Lantiao would stay a maid and aide for Madam Jia and that annoying ZBH when she was offered a mansion and staff of her own. Why live like this?  There is nothing great or nice about Madam Jia or ZBH. 

 

Surely she is after something from them or playing a bigger game? It's dangerous in the palace.

 

[liddi]

@tulip06 

Spoiler

Yes that remains to be seen. She might be plotting against them but with whom? Seeing Xia Song has already fallen into disfavour, I cannot imagine who else would wish to get rid of ZBH and Madam Jia unless it was Zhang Maoze, who is steadily biding his time waiting for them to overreach themselves. While it seems out of character for him to work with Lantiao... it is a possibility. He already has evidence of Madam Jia and Xia Song's collusion in selling untaxed salt and women, yet he has no intention of exposing them yet, because his real target is to bring down ZBH. So perhaps Lantiao is one of the pieces he is laying in place to do just that.

 

[tulip06]

@liddi 

Spoiler

Maybe she is a chess piece of Maoze’s through that eunuch she is friends with, and who protects her from Madam Jia?

 

the only other thing I could think of was that she would find a house and staff dependent on Madam Jia insecure too, and a possible danger zone. Who knows how it would be used on the basis that Jia was paying for it?

 

[liddi]

@tulip06

Spoiler

 

I doubt that the devious Yang Huaimin would have played any part in Lantiao working for Maoze, even though he is not on particularly good terms with Madam Jia either. Would he risk cooperating with Maoze especially since he was previously in cohorts with Xia Song in the past. I don't know... hopefully all this will be cleared up soon.

 

To be honest, I believe Madam Jia sincere in her offer to Lantiao, mostly because she would do anything to protect ZBH and her children from further harm, but also there is an element of guilt towards her. Come to think of it, there is no clear antagonist throughout the 34 episodes of the drama thus far, just characters of varying shades, each with their own flaws and even then, we get to see some redeeming quality, however minute. This is true of Prime Minister Lü, Xia Song, Madam Jia and even ZBH, who loves unreservedly, offering to reduce half of her lifespan for the king's love, and then to be demoted once more to 美人 so that her children might survive.

 

 

[tulip06]

@liddi 

Spoiler

True there is no real villain, but ZBH and her crew come pretty close. And, I find ZBH rather nasty and mean. And her so-called love for the emperor is more obsession and possessiveness. I also am sick of her whining. She is a creepy person to me. So, I am with Maoze: waiting for her fall. 

I have a question about this Liang family who made desserts and who taught the emperor’s birth mother: are they her birth family? 

[liddi]

@tulip06 

Spoiler

You and me both. ZBH does have flashes of redeeming qualities, but even that doesn't make me want to dunk her into a lake any less. The direction that the drama is taking, hints more of protectiveness and pity on the part of Zhao Zhen for her rather than real love, but he spoils her rotten, which frustrates me no end. While I too am with you and Maoze, waiting for her to trip up badly, I am unfortunately again reminded of history which sees Consort Zhang being posthumously conferred the title of empress, despite the fact that Empress Cao was still alive. As such, I am not sure how the drama is going to explain that decision, which is a clear affront to the empress.

 

Tonight's episodes explain Lantiao's real motivations.. guess we were really overthinking it after all! 

 

I don't believe the Liang family is related to Zhao Zhen's birth mother, since she is of the surname Li. Rather, the young boy Li Wei who carried little Huirou on his shoulders so that she could reach the treats prepared for the guests, is Zhao Zhen's cousin, his mother's nephew. The family is a lowly one, but elevated by Zhao Zhen because of his mother and

Spoiler

Huirou would ultimately be given in marriage to Li Wei when she is older.

 

[tendrilsofwind]

9 hours ago, skibbies said:

Oh and where's Justice Bao! D< He's well known! He should be in the capital by now. Don't tell me they skipped him! D<

 

I think he will turn up soon. I heard that there is a fun scene coming up involving him and Consort Zhang's uncle. 

 

On 4/26/2020 at 2:22 PM, tulip06 said:

I wish I could upload the screenshot. Emperor and Empress got drunk, they’re in bed, but she is fully dressed. So, they didn’t do anything! 
 

she is just putting him to bed like a child. So aggravating.

 

I think I figured out how the writers are going to spin the Empress as his one true love. The Emperor has a severe case of Madonna-richard simmons complex. He feels as if he was deprived of maternal affection as a child and thus seeks to recapture that intimacy with his romantic partner. Due to the muddling of his affections and its incestuous undertones, he is unable to fulfill his sexual desires with her.

 

The unique circumstances surrounding his childhood led to an improper resolution of his oedipal complex in his adolescence. The Empress and Consort Miao embody his two mothers, with the former being the Dowager Empress and the latter his birth mother. He is inexorably drawn to both, but given that he was raised by the Dowager Empress, coupling with her analogue, the Empress, carries a greater taboo. The intensity of his relationship with the Dowager Empress spills over, causing love for the mother to become hopelessly entangled with romantic love; he has no choice but to repress what he unconsciously perceives to be unholy desires. As Freud said,  "Where such men love they have no desire and where they desire they cannot love."

 

With that being said, I am just joking and I do not recommend taking Freud too seriously lol

[tulip06]

3 hours ago, liddi said:

@tulip06 

  Reveal hidden contents

You and me both. ZBH does have flashes of redeeming qualities, but even that doesn't make me want to dunk her into a lake any less. The direction that the drama is taking, hints more of protectiveness and pity on the part of Zhao Zhen for her rather than real love, but he spoils her rotten, which frustrates me no end. While I too am with you and Maoze, waiting for her to trip up badly, I am unfortunately again reminded of history which sees Consort Zhang being posthumously conferred the title of empress, despite the fact that Empress Cao was still alive. As such, I am not sure how the drama is going to explain that decision, which is a clear affront to the empress.

 

Tonight's episodes explain Lantiao's real motivations.. guess we were really overthinking it after all! 

 

I don't believe the Liang family is related to Zhao Zhen's birth mother, since she is of the surname Li. Rather, the young boy Li Wei who carried little Huirou on his shoulders so that she could reach the treats prepared for the guests, is Zhao Zhen's cousin, his mother's nephew. The family is a lowly one, but elevated by Zhao Zhen because of his mother and

  Hide contents

Huirou would ultimately be given in marriage to Li Wei when she is older.

 

Which episode was it that he carried her? I don't recall the Li family mentioned ever. 

 

@tendrilsofwind At least the emperor will never bother the empress and consort Miao like the awful emperor did Ruyi and the prior empress in Ruyi's Royal Love.

[skibbies]

1 hour ago, tendrilsofwind said:

I think he will turn up soon. I heard that there is a fun scene coming up involving him and Consort Zhang's uncle. 

Awesome!

 

1 hour ago, tulip06 said:

Which episode was it that he carried her? I don't recall the Li family mentioned ever. 

ep 23. (DVD ver, if you can't find it, try the previous or next ep) She was like 1 or 2. It's after she saw Gao Taotao (her playmate for awhile, Empress' niece I think) give Empress' adopted son Zhao Zongshi a kiss on the cheek. The Emperor explained his relationship with the family just before that. So she gave the kid a kiss on the cheek too as a thank you amongst family.

 

 

Emperor & Consort Zhang reeeeeally frustrates me. Especially the whole let's blame richard simmons on a little girl when she was FOUR and SEVEN. Harem bs is a pain already with adults, but when one of them is literally a child, I want to throw the drama out the window.

 

I've given up on the Empress, because every time she's with the Emperor, they mostly end up arguing, because she's always afraid she's not proper enough, rip. She's great when she's with everyone else though  More girls time with Consort Miao and Huirou please. Oh yeah, Huirou and Huaiji are adorable, too bad there's not enough scenes of them together.

[tulip06]

@skibbies I feel bad for the empress. I'm like her, unable to be sexy. If the guy doesn't take the lead, nothing will happen.

 

I feel so bad for huaji that he is a eunuch and can't be the princess's lover. Or anyone's wonderful husband.

[tulip06]

The BTS here was kind of cute. I don’t know if everyone can see. https://m.wetv.vip/play?cid=rh8nrh9a2ti0au5&vid=m0033cehv7k&languageid=1491988&ptag=5_2.4.5.5146_copy

 

okay, I have to seriously stop wwatching this show and do some work!

[lilkat75]

They have a few bts scene videos on YouTube! Although no subs ^^; 

It's actually really nice watching them compared to some of the scenes in the drama haha.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X3QXcmYKJA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJpn6bqBLbQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ3kvbIj7CQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iuvSWifC_M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeiUrS0EZD4 

 

[liddi]

@tulip06 @lilkat75 The BTSes which they release pretty much on a daily basis on their official Weibo account, are what makes me smile as opposed to the all-too-few happy scenes in the drama itself. Poor Ye Zuxin moaning over having to carry Wang Kai on his back which they thankfully completed in one take is hilarious  And the unfortunate props, fated to be smashed by both royal father and daughter! It's great to see the warmth on set, particularly when the drama itself can be so bleak.

 

Have been listening to the OST and watching the MVs lately... the songs have grown on me - particularly love 双飞燕 which describes perfectly the relationship between Zhao Zhen and his empress - the poignant longing, a lifetime of distance between them yet bonded by understanding, ruling together from the lonely city, the wish to no longer be a bird in a gilded cage in their next life, but to fly free together as a pair of swallows. The lyrics move me immensely, and I feel more keenly the desolation of each word.

 

Incidentally, @tulip06 if it makes you feel any better, we might get a kiss (albeit manhandled) from the royal couple after all based on the MV for 双飞燕 circa 2:46min mark:

 

 

 

[tendrilsofwind]

I don't really like how they are handling the situation with Huirou and her future husband. Right now they are portraying him to be hopelessly devoted to her and making it seem as if the Emperor ordered the marriage solely for his daughter's benefit. I thought it was great to include the conversation about how he cannot betroth her to a truly capable man due to regulations at the time; the show could have used that to maintain him as a sympathetic character. 

 

However, it is obvious from the history books that the Emperor's intentions were to use her as a tool to absolve the guilt he felt towards his birth mother. Given how he neglected Empress Cao because she was ugly, him forcing his daughter into a marriage to an extremely ugly and foolish man is undeniably hypocritical. Not to mention Empress Cao was brilliant and capable. In the Song Dynasty, looks and intelligence were highly prized, so for someone reared in the manner of the Princess, marriage to such a man would have been unbearable. The historians explicitly describe him as ugly and I have never seen anyone else described that way, so you can only imagine how unfortunate his looks were. But the little actor they cast as her future husband is adorable and the princess shown to be unconditionally kind! How is the plot supposed to progress now? 

Spoiler

The most unforgivable thing is that after the Princess escaped back to the palace, following multiple suicide attempts, the marriage was finally annulled when her husband's brother begged the Emperor for an annulment. Then on his deathbed, the Emperor legally married them again!!!!! Because he still felt guilty about his mom.......This is so hard for any modern person to understand. A woman tries to leave the man she was forced to marry and fights back against a mother in law who humiliated her, and the result is public shaming and she is deemed the one at fault. I can only be grateful to be no longer bound by Confucian ideals. 

 

Hopefully my fears don't come to pass and I am proven wrong.

[skibbies]

2 hours ago, tendrilsofwind said:

I don't really like how they are handling the situation with Huirou and her future husband.

I'm not quite there yet, but saaaame.

 

I'm coming to dislike the Emperor rather than being bored by him. He was really hypocritical when it came to conflicts between Consort Zhang and Huirou too. He said he wants Huirou to not be bound by rules and do whatever she wants and be the happiest girl in Song. But instead of sternly telling Consort Zhang off and then comfort her, he protectively hugs his consort while shooing Huirou away without listening to her. Everyone consoles Huirou and tell her to just avoid Consort Zhang, the Emperor straight up ask her to be sympathetic and try to understand Consort Zhang. Excuse me? You are the ONLY one who can control her or talk some sense into her, but instead of doing that, you want a SEVEN years old girl be the "bigger person". The writing is kind of infuriating, Huirou then proceed to be all "oh no it must be so hard to be you, dad". I know it's meant to show that he has to listen to all these ministers and balance between everyone's opinions, but it's absolutely terrible timing, and makes me dislike him more. They really could have used a smaller incident to get that message across.

 

Coming back to her marriage, the drama repeatedly emphasis that he wanted her to be happy and free. Obviously, it's to contrast with the latter decision and tragedy that comes with futility of that marriage. It's gross that instead of admitting, yeah she's the eldest princess so she needs to make sacrifice and the guilt he feels towards his birth mother (ok it does emphasis that a bit). It focuses on the Emperor is slightly paranoid (?) and hopelessly into the idea that his birth mother is taking away his children to punish him, is that meant to make me care, because it's not working? Then there's the whole Li Wei's devotion, how about we don't? It's entirely possible to have dramatic tension and resentment with a joyless marriage, without one side pining! The drama is actively trying to make the marriage seems like a great idea, when neither history nor the original book thought the same.

 

There's some noticeable signs that the drama is selling opposite message the book was, and I am NOT happy about it.